Becoming the 100th degree! Keep that heat on!

Hello everyone! :)

So it's been a pretty fun week. On Tuesday we had an awesome zone conference, and everyone has been talking lately about what we want to change because of what we learned there. It was super great! :) I just love being a missionary. When we all came together in a room just full of people whose only goal for 18 to 24 months is to serve the Lord, it was POWERFUL! We talked about so many great things and I've set some goals to really try to improve.

Last Monday we had a district activity where we had a picnic (ever had a baguette with a rotisserie chicken? I recommend it) and then we all went to see a huge cathedral in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre, which is a town about 30 minutes east of here. It was HUGE. It amazed me how beautiful and intricate the inside of this cathedral was. There was so much work put into it. I love how much people were willing to give to show their devotion to God. It is incredible! :)

I wanted to share a thought that was shared in zone conference by a missionary who I really look up to. He talked about "becoming the 100th degree." Here's the analogy he made.

Water is one of the most valuable resources on the planet. All life on Earth depends on water for survival. Water freezes at 0 degrees (Celsius - I'm in Canada) and boils at 100 degrees. When water boils, it does two things: first, the water is purified and cleansed, and second, steam is created. Steam can be used to do many things; with the amount of energy found in steam, one could literally move a mountain.

But here's the key; water doesn't boil at 99 degrees.

In our lives, our "temperature" can vary pretty often. But the invitation we were given (and that I'm giving to all of you) is this:

Become the 100th degree!

Sometimes we can be working super hard and nothing seems to be happening. Sometimes we seem to be giving so much of ourselves for nothing. But there is always a point where we choose to leave it ALL on the floor, where we give every ounce of ourselves that we can and just at that point where it doesn't seem like we have any energy left, just at that point where we don't think we can go back out and try to talk to people on the street or we don't think we can deal with that insufferable colleague any longer or we don't think our children will ever learn their lesson - keep the heat on! Because when you get to that 100th degree, the Lord will intervene and that water will BOIL. I know it! I've seen it happen to me time and time again!

I love you all! Keep working hard!

En avant!

Elder Bryan McOmber